Fluid dispenser



May l0, 1932. D. J. NELSON FLUID DISPENSER AFiled June 23. 1950 PatentedMay 10, 1932 UNITED STATES rafriilrlf oFFlcE DAVID J. NELSON, orHAMBURG, NEW YORK, AssIGNoR To MARTIN a SCHWARTZ, INC., 0E BUFFALO, NEWYORK FLUID DISPENSER Application :filed .Tune 23,

This invention relates to control improvements in fluid dispensers.

In the motor driven dial type of gasoline dispenser, it is usual, andsometimes compulsory, depending upon the requirements of the laws ofvarious communities, to provide a manual control which is necessary tobe manipulated to render the motor and pumping unit operable. Thiscontrol is often of the telephone hook7 type and is adapt- .ed toreceive a nozzle ofthe dispensing hose,

which by its weight'thereon moves the same to render the motor and pumpoperative. l/Vhen the nozzle is removed from the hook and the hook islifted, the motor and pump are set in motion to supply the gasoline tothe hose, wherefrom it is delivered through its nozzle by a suitabletrigger actuated valve. lVhen the trigger is not operated, a certainliquid pressure is maintained in the delivery hose by the pump which isin continuous operation and excess gasoline is circulated through thepumping system by a suitable by-pass device. Many conditions arise whichrender the fluid pressure present in a dispensing hose extremelydangerous; for example, it often occurs that the attendant, afterfilling the tank of the automobile with gasoline, allows the nozzle toremain in the tank upon being called away to make change or the like,whereupon the driver of the automobile thoughtlessly drives away andpulls the hose from the dispenser. Since means are not provided torender the pump inoperative under these conditions, thepump continues todeliver gasoline through the broken orfractured hose until the control,such as the described telephone hook is manipulated to stop such flow.

Itis one of the objects of the present invention to provide a safetydevice on the hose to prevent spillage of gasoline upon occurrences asabove described,'and also to prevent excessive and unnecessary use ofthe motor. This device chiey comprises a switch actuator located nearthe nozzle of the hose and connected to a switchl within the dispensercasing which controls the operation of the motor. The actuator isdevised so that it normally maintains the motor circuit in 1930. SerialNo. 463,125. l

inoperative position through the mentioned l switch, and therefore,manual pressure thereou is necessary to render the pump operative.'l'his devicel is directly associatedwith the control on the dispenserand acts as an additional safety device therewith as more fullydescribed in the accompanying specication and drawing.

ln the drawings:

Fig. l is a diagrammatic view showing the hook-up ot' the safety devicewith the operating unit of a gasoline dispenser.

Fig. :l is an electrical lay-out diagrammatically showing the safetydevice switch and the control switch in relation to the motor of thedispenser.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation showing the safety device switch.

Fig. -l is an elevation showing the safety device actuator attached tothe hose.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. l.

' ln the drawings,-the numeral l designates a gasoline dispenser casingwherein is suitably mounted an electric motor 2 operatively connected todrive a supply pump 3. The motor-pump unit comprises a fluid supplydevice adapted to pump gasoline from the supply pipe 4 to the deliverypipe 5, from whence it is conveyedthrough a meter or suitable measuringdevice 5 to the exterior of the casing and into the supply hose, 6. The

`frce end of the supply hose is fitted with a nozzle 7 whichf isprovided with' the usual valve mechanism aetuatable by the releasetrigger 8. The release trigger and valve mechanism are .usuallyresiliently maintained in au off position. When the pump is set iumotion by the motor 2, pressure is supplied to the hose 6 and to preventrupture of the hose under such pressure, a by-pass valve 9 is interposedin the delivery pipe and suitably connected to return the liquid pumpedby the pump V3 back to the supply line 4. Thus, when the pump is inoperation and the trigger 8 is in its off position, a certain pressureis present in the hose 6 but such pressure isnot excessive as theby-pass valve 9 operates to return the liquid to the pump.

In Fig. l, a yieldable nozzle support l0 of i the telephone hook type isshown. This member is movable to the position shown in dotted lines onFig. 1 when the nozzle 7 is placed thereon; and when the nozzle isremoved, the support is manually movable to the position shown in fulllines. The support is pivoted near its central portion and the interiorextension thereof is connected by a connecting rod 11 to the throw arm12 of the motor switch 13, which is adapted to throw the switch arm 14therein, either in contact with the switch point 15, or out of contacttherewith, the former when the support is in its raised position (fulllines, Fig. 1), and the latter when the support is in its loweredposition. For exemplary purposes, a simple electrical hook-up to themotor 'is lshown (Fig. 2) wherein one line 1'6 of the power circuit isconnected directly to the motor, and the other line 17 is connected tothe switch arm 14, from whence it leads through the wire 18 to thesafety switch device 19, hereinafter more fully described, and fromthere to the opposite pole of the motor through the wire 20. It will bethus seen that the nozzle support 10, depending upon its two positions,controls the operation or non-operation of the motor.

The present invention aims to supplement the control feature of thenozzle support by interposing afurther switch element included by theswitch box 19 previously mentioned, interposed in any suitable positionin the motor circuit.

The switch device 19 chiefly comprises a housing 21 (Fig. 3) withinwhich and secured to the lower wall thereof is mounted a bracket 22having a vertical leg 23 provided with angularly bent extensions 24 and25. On the base 26 of the bracket an expandible bellows 27 is secured,having an extending pin 28 provided on its top portion, and having anopening in its bottom connecting to a source of pressure, such as thetube 29 which is secured to the exterior of the housing by a suitablefitting and extends therethrough and through the bottom of the base 26to connect with the bellows. On the vertical leg 23 of the bracketimmediately above the bellows a stud 23 is secured and is adapted toreceive and pivotally mount the bearing 30 of the tilt arm 31. The tiltarm extends from the stud 23 to a position between the extensions 24 and25 for purposes as hereinafter set forth, and is provided with upwardlyextending clip portions 32 adapted to resiliently engage the glassportion of a usual type of mercury switch 33 formed to provide anangular portion 34. A pair of spaced contact members 35 engage throughthe angular portion 34 `and extend radially to the bottom thereof. Oneof the leads 35 is electrically connected to the wire 18 of the motorcircuit, the other, through the wire 20 connected to the lead 20 of themotor circuit.

Thus when fluid pressure is applied to the bellows through the tube 29,the bellows will expand upwardly and the pin 28 thereof will engage thetilt member 31 which will be urged upwardly about the stud 29 to theextreme upper position limited by its engagement with the extension 24.The accompanying mercury switch will likewise be tilted and thegravitational iiow ot mercury will Abe directed into the angular portion34 to complete the electrical connection between the members 35, thuselectrically connecting the wires 16 and 20. Upon release of the Huidpressure in the bellows, the tilt member 31 and the mercury switch willbe free to return to its lower position, (dotted lines in Fig. 3), thusbreaking the circuit between the wires 18 and 20. A. clip 34, adjustablymounted for resilient engagement with the extension 25 by the bolt 35,limits the downward movement of the tilt member 31.

The tube 29 extends through the casing to the dispensing hose 6 aboutwhich it is spirallywound and secured by means of tape or the like (notshown) and extends to the actuator member 37 which is located at a pointon the hose in close proximity to the nozzle 7. The spiral winding ofthe tube 29 permits the bending and manipulation of the hose withoutmaterially affecting the lengt-h of the tube, since the spirals are selfcom.

pensating under such conditions. The actuator comprises a tubular body738 provided with integral lug portions 39 connected by an arcuate rib40. This member is secured to the hose by a clamping ring 41 whichencircles the hose and is provided'with angular lugs 42 which areadapted to be secured to the lugs 39 by the clamping screws 43. The endof the body extending toward the nozzle is shouldered at 44 and theopposite end is internally threaded vat 45. An actuator unit isinsertible within the body and comprises a fitting 46 having a wrenchportion 47, an adjacent threaded portion 48 adapt-ed to engage thethreaded portion 45 of the body, and a shouldered portion 49 over whichis adapted to be secured an end of the bellows 51. The iitting is.drilled through to provide an opening` 50. The bellows, which is open atboth ends, extends the length of the casing and is closed at its end bya button member 52 which is provided with an arcuate extension 53 whichprotrudes beyond and through the opening of the body member, and isshouldered at 54 to abut the shoulder 44 of the body when the bellows isin extended position as shown in Fig. 4. A spring 55 is mounted undertension within the bellows between the button 52 and the fitting 46. Thetube 29 is secured to the tting 46 in a suitable manner and is therebyconnected for fluid action through the opening 50 of the fitting to theinterior of the bellows.

The bellows 27, the tube 29, and the bellows 51 are filled with asuitable liquid,"suc h as oil, and sealed in a proper manner to enablethe bellows 51 to b'e urged to its outward position as shown in Fig. 5,to compress by fluid pressure the bellows 27, so that the manualactuation of the button 52 in a direction away from the nozzle 7 willdisplace oil from the bellows 51 to actuate the Huid within the tube 29to expand the bellows 27, and thus -a'ctuate the mercury switch asheretofore described.

In practical use when it'is desired to operate the dispenser, the nozzle7 and accompanying hose are lifted fromsupport 10, the latter member isthen manually lifted to connect the switch arm 14 withthe switch pointl5 as heretofore described. The free end of the nozzle is then insertedin the gasoline tank of the automobile by the attendant who, grippingthe hose with one hand and the nozzle with the other hand, is able todepress the button 52 to close the mercury switch and thereby the motorcircuit to supply fluid to the hose 6, and to press trigger 8 withtheother hand to discharge theliquid supplied to said hose. Should theoperator, through necessity 'or carelessness, allowl the hose to remainin the automobile tank and abandon his filling operation, he mustnecessarily release his hold on the hose and thereby release the button52 upon which the spring 55 will restore the bellows and accompanyingbutton to its normal position, and simultaneously contract the bellows27 to restore the mercury switch to its inoperative position. The motorcircuit will thus be broken and the pump will.

mounted therein, an electric motor for operating said pump, switch meansin the motor circuit to control the operation of said motor, adispensing hose supplied with liquid by said pump, a bellows connectedto vsaid switch means, and manually operable means on the free end ofsaid hose having fluid connection with said bellows, said manuallyoperable means being adapted to supply fluid to said bellows to expandthe same and thereby oper? Yate said switch. i A

4. In a fluid dispenser, a casing, a pump mounted therein, an electricmotor for operating said pump, switch means in the circuit of the motorto control the operation of said motor, a dispensing hose supplied withliquid by said pump, a bellows connected to said switch means, amanually operable lactuator mounted on the free end of said hose andhaving fluid connection with said bellows, and a spring in saidactuator, said actuator being manually operable in one direction toexpand said bellows and thereby operate said switch and being restoredto its normal position by said spring to contract said bellows andthereby move said switch to open said circuit.

DAVID J, NELSON.

cease to operate, thus relieving the pressure a strain on the hose6,'and in the event of subsequent rupture of the hose under conditionspreviously described, a serious loss of gasoline and the accompanyingfire hazard will be prevented.

What is claimed is:

l. In a fluid dispenser, a casing, a pump therein, a motor thereinv foroperating said pump, switch means in the motor circuit to control theoperation of said motor, a hose supplied with liquid by said pump, meanson the free end of said hose for operating said switch means, and meanson said casing for conditioning said circuit for operation by said firstnamed switch means.

2. In a' fluid dispenser, a casing, a pump therein, a motor therein foroperating said pump, switch means in the motor circuit to cont-rol theoperation of said motor, a dispensing hose supplied with liquid by saidpump, fluid pressure operated switch operating means adjacent sai-dswitch, manually operablefiuid pressure means mounted on the vfree endof said hose, and fluid connecting means connecting said operating meansand said pressure means, said pressure means being adapted to move saidoperating means to cont-rol said switch.

3. In a Huid dispenser, s. casing, a pump las

